Tivo, M-Card, Extreme HD Package for a new guy - need confirmation
alleyooptroop
Enthusiast - Level 2

hello all-

newbie here. within the last couple weeks i've made the following changes to my tv viewing lifestyle:

- bought new 52" lcd hd tv

- dumped directv to take advantage of fios bundle pricing

- signed up for extreme hd package via bundle

- received verizon hd dvr

so i realized quickly that i missed the tivo ui and that i wasn't a fan of the verizon hd dvr. i was able to hunt down a new tivo hd ($149 on clearance at sears - woohoo!) at the same time researching how to get it to work with fios tv. after a lotof surfing here i found out that i need:

- 1 m-cablecard or 2 s-cablecards

- signal attenuator to tone down fios signal

so i need confirmation on a couple things:

- i'm in southern california and it sounds like from this post

 

http://forums.verizon.com/vrzn/board/message?board.id=FiOS_TV&view=by_date_ascending&message.id=7840...

 

that s-cards are still used in socal. can someone confirm this? obviously i'd like to just have 1 m-card to save a little monthly. 

 

- it sounds like installing the attenuator(s) is kind of a tricky thing. are most techs going to be able to handle this? is there any chance that it could harm either the tivo box or my new tv? (sorry for the nervous newb question)

thanks in advance for any replies. looking forward to being an active member here.

p.s. i'm sure most are aware of this but there should not be a truck roll fee for the install. the csr i just spoke with to schedule the install said a charge didn't even show up when she put it in the system.

0 Likes
Re: Tivo, M-Card, Extreme HD Package for a new guy - need confirmation
TimSykes
Specialist - Level 2

M-cards are now a standard everywhere. If just make sure it is a m-card when they install it. From what I have heard is the only way a truck will have the s-card is if they pulled it from a customers home.

Also I have heard that the attenuator is rarely needed, it is only needed if the signal is to strong going to the Tivo. I did not need them for my house, but I believe this is something that the fios tech would do.

There is no fee for a truck roll for a cable card install. Its been that way for a few months now. 

Re: Tivo, M-Card, Extreme HD Package for a new guy - need confirmation
alleyooptroop
Enthusiast - Level 2

thanks for replying tim! just to confirm, are there any states or regions that are still distributing the s-cards? the link i posted from another thread said this:

Outside of possibly CA and some parts of PA, I don't know of any FiOS service areas that still deploy the older S-CARDs.  S-CARDs were discontinued a year ago, so once an area runs out, they do not get any more (outside of customer returns).  For all intents and purposes, Verizon has now standardized on M-CARDs for new CableCard orders.

since i'm in socal i thought there would be a chance i would get stuck with 2 s-cards.

re: the attenuator(s) are there any areas that have been known to need them? tim - you said you didn't need them. would you happen to be in socal as well?

0 Likes
Re: Tivo, M-Card, Extreme HD Package for a new guy - need confirmation
TimSykes
Specialist - Level 2

That post was from about 3 months ago, m-card became standard everywhere about 4 to 6 weeks ago. I was stuck with s-cards, but upgraded mine a few weeks ago. So I don't think you will have any issues.

And the attenuator is nothing to do with region just to do with the signal coming into your house. If its to strong they will put on on for you.  Your neighbor may need one, but that does not mean you will too. You wont know until they try it out.

Re: Tivo, M-Card, Extreme HD Package for a new guy - need confirmation
alleyooptroop
Enthusiast - Level 2
install went great today. took about 20 minutes. i did end up needing an attenuator though. nice to have that tivo ui back again. only thing i'm noticing now is a clicking sound when i change channels sometimes. the clicking sound actually came on for a few seconds when i turned the tv on for the first time after the install of the cable card. i called sony and the csr said it was caused by the tivo box. she suggested changing the output resolution to full time 1080i but that didn't help. i did check if i could hear the same sound while playing a bluray disc but i didn't. seems like it happens most when i change channels from sd to hd or vice versa. anyone else having this problem?
0 Likes
Re: Tivo, M-Card, Extreme HD Package for a new guy - need confirmation
KenAF
Specialist - Level 2

@alleyooptroop wrote:
install went great today. took about 20 minutes. i did end up needing an attenuator though. nice to have that tivo ui back again. only thing i'm noticing now is a clicking sound when i change channels sometimes. the clicking sound actually came on for a few seconds when i turned the tv on for the first time after the install of the cable card. i called sony and the csr said it was caused by the tivo box. she suggested changing the output resolution to full time 1080i but that didn't help. i did check if i could hear the same sound while playing a bluray disc but i didn't. seems like it happens most when i change channels from sd to hd or vice versa. anyone else having this problem?

If you have the TiVo connected directly to your TV via HDMI, be sure to set the audio output to PCM under Messages & Settings -> Settings -> Audio -> Dolby Digital.

 

If you just setup your TiVo, it may take a few days to receive the latest 11.0c software.

0 Likes
Re: Tivo, M-Card, Extreme HD Package for a new guy - need confirmation
alleyooptroop
Enthusiast - Level 2
thanks for the reply! i'll give that a shot when i get home.
0 Likes
Re: Tivo, M-Card, Extreme HD Package for a new guy - need confirmation
rjsurgent
Enthusiast - Level 1

@TimSykes wrote:

That post was from about 3 months ago, m-card became standard everywhere about 4 to 6 weeks ago. I was stuck with s-cards, but upgraded mine a few weeks ago. So I don't think you will have any issues.


M-cards may not be standard in Pittsburgh!

I ordered an m-card on 4/23 for my 5/6 install.  On 5/6 the installer had no record that I ordered a cable card for my Tivo.  He went back to the office, called me, and said they only have S cards.  He said they could install the two S cards to get me up and running and order an m-card.  (As an aside, I also had ordered two STB's, so this bumped me up from 3 free "installs" to 4, and so they tried to bill me for the "extra" install - I believe I got this adjusted yesterday).  I called Verizon yesterday, spent about an hour talking to several different people, all of whom insist that they cannot get m-cards.

Any advise on any "magic" words I can use to get an m-card appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

0 Likes
Re: Tivo, M-Card, Extreme HD Package for a new guy - need confirmation
KenAF
Specialist - Level 2

@rjsurgent wrote:

@TimSykes wrote:

That post was from about 3 months ago, m-card became standard everywhere about 4 to 6 weeks ago. I was stuck with s-cards, but upgraded mine a few weeks ago. So I don't think you will have any issues.


M-cards may not be standard in Pittsburgh!

I ordered an m-card on 4/23 for my 5/6 install.  On 5/6 the installer had no record that I ordered a cable card for my Tivo.  He went back to the office, called me, and said they only have S cards.  He said they could install the two S cards to get me up and running and order an m-card.  (As an aside, I also had ordered two STB's, so this bumped me up from 3 free "installs" to 4, and so they tried to bill me for the "extra" install - I believe I got this adjusted yesterday).  I called Verizon yesterday, spent about an hour talking to several different people, all of whom insist that they cannot get m-cards.

Any advise on any "magic" words I can use to get an m-card appreciated.

Thanks in advance.


Sales representatives are not educated on the differences between S-CARDs and M-CARDs.  Their system does not differentiate either; there is one entry for "CableCards" and no mention of S-CARDs or M-CARDs.

 

Verizon has standardized on M-CARDs in all service areas.  Those are the only CableCards that still exist, since all other types were discontinued 15 months ago.  I suppose it is possible for a particular area to be out of new CableCards (all M-CARDs), in which they case they many have only a small quantify of S-CARDs on-hand that were returned by [former] customers.

0 Likes
Re: Tivo, M-Card, Extreme HD Package for a new guy - need confirmation
rjsurgent
Enthusiast - Level 1

I believe at least one of the people I spoke with was not a "sales representative", but somebody actually in "service".  They seemed to understand exactly what I was talking about.  They said that they had recently got in what they thought was going to be the m-cards, but was actually a new type of STB that used/included an m-card.  They said that they are not able to get the m-cards by themselves.  They only have s-cards.

When I get some free time, I guess I will just try calling again!

0 Likes